By Time They Mastered Somalia, the Rules Have Changed! (Part VIII) Cont

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Somalia categorized a Failure-Collapsed State “Which Is The End Stage Of Failure”. “What goes around comes around”

Transitional serial perpetual adopting Resolutions and Mandates, recommending for UNOSOM (UNITAF-UNOSOM-I, UNOSOM-II – UNPOS and so on Since 1992-2016…is infinitive or limitless):

Table: UN Secretary General

The downfall of SOMALI government in January 1991 resulted in a power struggle and clan clashes in many parts of Somalia. In November, the most intense fighting since January 1991 broke out in the capital, Mogadishu, between two factions C one supporting Interim President Ali Mahdi Mohamed and the other supporting the Chairman of the United Somali Congress, General Mohamed Farah Aidid. Since then, fighting persisted in Mogadishu and spread throughout Somalia, with heavily armed elements controlling various parts of the country. Some declared alliance with one or the other of the two factions, while others did not. Numerous marauding groups of bandits added to the problem.

The hostilities resulted in widespread death and destruction, forcing hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee their homes and causing a dire need for emergency humanitarian assistance. Almost 4.5 million people in Somalia C over half of the estimated population C were threatened by severe malnutrition and malnutrition-related disease, with the most affected living in the countryside. It was estimated that perhaps 300,000 people died since November 1991, and at least 1.5 million lives were at immediate risk. Almost one million Somalis sought refuge in neighbouring countries and elsewhere.

The political chaos, deteriorating security situation, widespread banditry and looting, and extent of physical destruction compounded the problem and severely constrained the delivery of humanitarian supplies. Furthermore, the conflict threatened stability in the Horn of Africa region, and its continuation occasioned threats to international peace and security in the area.

• UNOSOM DEPLOYED and ESTABLISHED
  • Original Concept of Operations of UNOSOM and its Enlargement:
    • HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS
    • USE OF FORCE AUTHORIZED :
      • Situation Deteriorates,
      • Options Suggested: Council Authorizes Use of Force
• UNITAF Deployed Peace Agreements
  • TRANSITION TO UNOSOM II:

.EARLY UNITED NATIONS EFFORTS:

Despite the turmoil that ensued after the overthrow of Somali government, the United Nations continued its humanitarian efforts in Somalia and, by March 1991, was fully engaged in that country. Over the following months, the volatile security situation forced the United Nations on several occasions to temporarily withdraw its personnel from Somalia, but it continued its humanitarian activities to the fullest extent possible, in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

1. The deteriorating and appalling situation in Somalia led the United Nations Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, accordingly, after consulting incoming Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, in cooperation with the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the League of Arab States (LAS) and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), to become actively involved with the political aspects of the crisis and to press for a peaceful solution to the conflict.
2. On 27 December 1991, then Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (Peruvian) informed the President of the Security Council that he intended to take an initiative in an attempt to restore peace in Somalia. Accordingly, he asked then Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs James O.C. Jonah to visit the area.
3. In early January 1992, despite continued fighting in Mogadishu, Mr. Jonah led a team of senior United Nations officials into Somalia for talks aimed at bringing about a cessation of hostilities and securing access by the international relief community to civilians caught in the conflict. During that visit, support for a ceasefire in Mogadishu was expressed by all faction leaders, except General Aidid. Unanimous support was expressed, however, for a United Nations role in bringing about national reconciliation.
4. The results of the visit were reported to Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who then consulted with the members of the Security Council on the appropriate course of action. On 23 January 1992, by its Resolution 733 (1992), the Security Council urged all parties to the conflict to cease hostilities, and decided that all States should immediately implement a general and complete embargo on all deliveries of weapons and military equipment to Somalia. The Council requested the Secretary-General to increase humanitarian assistance to the affected population and to contact all parties involved in the conflict to seek their commitment to the cessation of hostilities, to promote a ceasefire and to assist in the process of a political settlement of the conflict.
5. On 31 January 1992, the Secretary-General invited LAS, OAU and OIC, as well as Interim President Ali Mahdi and General Aidid, to send their representatives to participate in consultations at United Nations Headquarters from 12 to 14 February 1992. The talks succeeded in getting the two factions in Mogadishu to agree to an immediate cessation of hostilities and the maintenance of the ceasefire, and to a visit to Mogadishu by a joint high-level delegation composed of representatives of the United Nations and the three regional organizations to conclude a ceasefire agreement. The joint delegation arrived in Mogadishu on 29 February 1992. On 3 March 1992, after four days of intensive negotiations, Interim President Ali Mahdi and General Aidid signed an “Agreement on the Implementation of a Ceasefire”. This Agreement also included the acceptance of a United Nations security component for convoys of humanitarian assistance, and the deployment of 20 military observers on each side of Mogadishu to monitor the ceasefire. At the same time, the joint delegation undertook consultations regarding a national reconciliation conference to which all Somali groups would be invited.

6. On 17 March 1992, the Security Council adopted its Resolution 746 (1992), supporting the Secretary-General’s decision to dispatch to Somalia a technical team to prepare a plan for a ceasefire monitoring mechanism. The Council also requested that the team develop a high-priority plan to ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The team visited Somalia from 23 March to 1 April 1992. Following discussions with the team, Interim President Ali Mahdi and General Aidid signed on 28 and 27 March 1992, respectively, Letters of Agreement on the mechanisms for monitoring the ceasefire and on arrangements for equitable and effective distribution of humanitarian assistance.

UNOSOM DEPLOYED: Establishment of UNOSOM (The Security Council adopted resolution 751 (1992).

1. On 24 April 1992, in response to a recommendation of the Secretary-General, the Security Council adopted Resolution 751 (1992), by which it decided to establish a United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The Council also asked the Secretary-General, in cooperation with LAS, OAU and OIC, to pursue consultations with all Somali parties towards convening a conference on national reconciliation and unity. It also called on the international community for financial and other support for the Secretary-General’s 90-day Plan of Action for Emergency Humanitarian Assistance to Somalia.
2. The Council welcomed the Secretary-General’s intention to appoint a Special Representative for Somalia to provide overall direction of United Nations activities in that country.

The First UN’s Special Representative of Somalia appointed on 28 April 1992, Mr. Mohammed Sahnoun of Algeria and was resigned left for the area on 1 May 1992.

• Original Concept of Operations :
  • In accordance with the agreements reached with the two main Somali factions in Mogadishu, the ceasefire in the capital was to be monitored by a group of 50 unarmed uniformed United Nations military observers.
  • As regards humanitarian assistance, the security personnel envisaged in the agreements were to provide protection and security for United Nations personnel, equipment and supplies at the seaports and airports in Mogadishu and escort deliveries of humanitarian supplies from there to distribution centres in the city and its immediate environs.
  • In its Resolution 751 (1992), the Security Council requested the Secretary-General to deploy immediately 50 observers to monitor the ceasefire in Mogadishu. It also agreed, in principle, to establish a security force to be deployed as soon as possible, and requested the Secretary-General to continue his consultations with the parties in Mogadishu in this regard.
  • On 23 June 1992, the Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali informed the Security Council that both principal factions in Mogadishu had agreed to the immediate deployment of the unarmed observers. The Chief Military Observer, Brigadier-General Imtíaz Shaheen of Pakistan, and the advance party of UNOSOM observers arrived in Mogadishu in early July 1992.
  • On 12 August 1992, the Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali informed the Security Council that, after considerable delays and difficulties, agreement had been reached with the principal faction leaders in Mogadishu to deploy 500 United Nations security personnel in the capital as part of UNOSOM.
  • The Government of Pakistan had agreed to contribute a unit for the purpose. The first group of security personnel arrived in Mogadishu on 14 September 1992.

Reference Documents:

• Coordinating Development in Conflict States: Donor Networks in Somalia By: Anna Schmidt.
• UNITED NATIONS ASSISTANCE MISSION IN SOMALIA (UNSOM): Reporting Documents